Friday, July 01, 2005

Offshore software development has become the de facto standard. This change has in part become possible by continual refinements in networking and software technology. Foremost among these is predictable, high volume bandwidth.A study of 36 companies by the Gartner groups predicts that the area of information technology with the highest predicted rate of growth will be offshore application management. This field takes advantage of highly skilled foreign workers. The workers toil across the fat pipes laid across the bottom of the ocean floor, keeping databases tuned, and ERP systems bug freeAccording to a report, many of the large Indian technology outsourcers are beginning to threaten the top companies in America. IBM currently has a strong lead in the area of mega-deals. However, Wipro and Infosys are very competitive.Companies from India work very hard to differentiate themselves. Everyone is aware of the large price differential between foreign services and local services. However, if it was only an issue of price alone, the movement of work offshore would not be happening as quickly. The fact is that the many in the industry find that offshore service companies, especially in India, have higher standards for development than do local companies.A clear representation of this can be seen in quality certification. Indian companies have taken great steps towards certification in the ISO and SW-CMM standards. While this does not guarantee results, the time and effort involved with receiving these certifications show a commitment to producing quality workGlobalization is a swiftly moving force. It affects every company in the world, whether they like it or not. In IT, this process has suddenly increased in pace, thanks for low prices, and high technology